Review: Uncovered by Emily Snow

Uncovered by Emily Snow

Uncovered by Emily Snow
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: August 8th 2014
Purchase: Ebook

My name is Lizzie Connelly, and I have it all. The gorgeous apartment. The new job most women would rip out their own souls for—working for Margaret Emerson at Emerson & Taylor. I have one of those lives you’ve always dreamt about, the kind you only see on HBO. But, the thing is, that life is a lie. A façade.

It all started with one call. “Everything you know about your story—your father’s story—is a lie. It’s up to you to uncover everything.” One call, and I turned my world upside down to dig my way into Margaret’s life—the woman who I’d never laid eyes on until recently. My stepmother who took everything after my father died fourteen years ago.

The plan was simple—figure out what role she played in my father’s death and expose her to the world.

But here’s another thing: simplicity doesn’t exist, and my plans are flawed from the beginning because I never anticipated Oliver. Sexy, too smart for his own goddamn good, and infuriating, he’s the one person who could blow my plans to uncover Margaret. She’s his mother, and in another life, that would have made him my stepbrother.

I want to pretend that none of that matters, that I can simply finish what I came to do without sparing him a second glance and another thought.

Like I said, though, there’s no such thing as simplicity.

My real name is Gemma Emerson.

And this is my story.

I was in the perfect mood for Uncovered. I wanted a book I could get hooked onto that had some some hot tension and some excitement and thrills, and Emily Snow gave me all that and more! I was pleasantly surprised by Uncovered, actually. I was intrigued by the synopsis–it sounded sooo good, and I was crossing my fingers that the inside would be just as good. And it definitely was! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Uncovered–it was the perfect combination of sexy and suspenseful.

“Everything you’ve been told about your story, your father’s story, is a lie. It’s up to you to uncover the truth.”

Gemma Emerson receives a mysterious phone call one day that changes her life. She’s told that her father’s death years ago wasn’t as simple as a heart attack killing him. There was more involved in his death, and more to the fact that Gemma was left nothing in her father’s will. Gemma was left to struggle with money, especially after her mother died shortly after her father. She reached out to her stepmother, her father’s second wife, but was shot down, told that her father didn’t leave any money for her–and instead, all of her father’s possessions were instead handed over to Gemma’s stepmother. Even devastated by the loss of her parents, and by the hurt that she didn’t mean anything to her father, Gemma was able to move on and carve a life for herself. She wanted nothing to do with her stepmother ever again, but that one phone call collides her past and present.

Gemma becomes Lizzie Connelly, a fake identity she uses to uncover the truth surrounding her father’s death and will. Lizzie works at Emerson & Taylor for Margaret Emerson, the stepmother that Gemma’s father left everything to. Lizzie’s job is to infiltrate Margaret’s life and expose the truth, but Lizzie never factored in Oliver Manning, Margaret’s son–and Gemma’s stepbrother.

Oliver Manning is sex-on-a-stick. He’s charming, he oozes sexuality, and he very much wants Lizzie. He doesn’t recognize her as Gemma, to her relief, but Gemma’s attraction to him is something she loves and hates. He fires her up like no other, but their chemistry is never something she factored in on her plan to uncover the truth.

I totally adored Oliver. I didn’t LOVE him with all my heart, but he definitely made me swoon a couple times throughout the book. He and Gemma easily heat up the pages, and I loved the slightly taboo aspect of their relationship–of Gemma falling for her sexy stepbrother.

“I didn’t plan on bringing you up here. But when I saw you–” Pausing, he let out a laugh that was just a touch remorseful. “–nobody else in that room existed.”

Sexy and full of twists and turns, Uncovered had me hooked from start to finish. As I read, I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next–some things shocked me, some things were predictable, but overall, Emily Snow wrote an addicting story in Uncovered. 4 hearts!

4-hearts

lacey

Blog Tour + ARC Review & Giveaway: Dante’s Fire by Jennifer Probst

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for DANTE’S FIRE!

Dante's Fire by Jennifer Probst

Dante’s Fire by Jennifer Probst
Release Date: August 26th 2014
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It’s Time To Meet A New Kind Of Hero…

Dante Stark has a dark secret–a legacy left to him by his father which is both a blessing and a curse. A traumatic experience as a small boy gave him special powers of healing, but it comes with a price. Destined to wander the world alone to heal others, he’s accepted his fate. Until Selina Rogers forces him to confront his deepest fears, erotic desires, and question his capacity to love.

Selina Rogers has made a name for herself at Inferno Enterprises. She’s tough, confident and prepared to succeed. She’s also built a world she believes is safe, until she’s attacked and then saved by a masked stranger. As he helps her heal physically and emotionally, she becomes fascinated by his overwhelming power and gentle touch. Determined to show Dante the love he’s been denying himself, Selina surrenders her heart, and dreams of a future with the mysterious man who completes her.

But will his dark legacy destroy them…or save them both…

Purchase:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • iTunes

review

Calling all superhero fans! Dante’s Fire is the perfect book for you! I loved that Jennifer Probst went in a completely different direction than her previous contemporary novels. Dante’s Fire is very much a superhero love story–and while I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to, it was still an incredibly fun and sweet read.

Dante Stark is the superhero of this story, though he doesn’t think of himself as one. He views his power to heal as a blessing and a curse. On one hand, he has the power to stop men from assaulting women, but on the other hand, he can never have a personal life. He has two identities–his real self as Dante Stark, owner of Inferno Enterprises, and his fake persona Daniel Stark, who works as the mail clerk at Inferno Enterprises.

As Daniel, Dante gets to meet Selina, who works at his company. Over the years that she’s worked there, he slowly falls in love with her, but he knows he has no chance of being with her–she can never know about his alter ego, and he believes she would never fall for a man who works as a mail clerk.

Selina is tough and ambitious. She’s been climbing up the corporate ladder, all the while becoming very good friends with Daniel Stark. There’s a chemistry between them, an attraction Selina can’t help but feel towards Daniel, but she’s not sure she can be with a man who doesn’t have as much ambition as she does. I admired Selina’s strength, her determination to be the best possible person she could be, despite being a product of the foster-care system.

During a traumatic incident, Selina meets and is saved by Dante, which changes everything in her life. Dante, the man with superhero powers, was never supposed to meet Selina, but Dante can’t stay away from her. She only knows him as Daniel, but he’s helplessly in love with her. Now Dante has to figure out a way to get Selina to accept both of his identities, because he can’t give her up.

Dante’s Fire wasn’t perfect–the plot had a few holes in it, but overall, it was a short and sweet read. Dante and Selina’s romance was romantic and full of chemistry. I’m glad Jennifer Probst decided to do a superhero story–I don’t come across one often, but this one was enjoyable and fun.

3.5 hearts
lacey

about the author

Jennifer ProbstJennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.

She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean.

She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon’s Best Books for 2012. She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team at www.jenniferprobst.com.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

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Review: Rival by Penelope Douglas

Rival by Penelope Douglas

Rival by Penelope Douglas
Series: Fall Away #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: August 26th 2014
Links: EbookPaperback • Audible • Goodreads

Madoc and Fallon. Two estranged teenagers playing games that push the boundaries between love and war…

She’s back.

For the two years she’s been away at boarding school, there was no word from her. Back when we lived in the same house, she used to cut me down during the day and then leave her door open for me at night.

I was stupid then, but now I’m ready to beat her at her own game…

I’m back.

Two years and I can tell he still wants me, even if he acts like he’s better than me.

But I won’t be scared away. Or pushed down. I’ll call his bluff and fight back. That’s what he wants, right? As long as I keep my guard up, he’ll never know how much he affects me….

Oh my gosh, OH MY GOSH! Rival was utter perfection! I laughed, I swooned, I gasped, and I fell deeply and madly in love with this book. Rival is a stunning, beautiful, heart-wrenching book that will make fans of Penelope Douglas fall in love all over again with this series after reading it.

Rival was definitely one of my TOP anticipated reads of the year, and it didn’t disappoint. It totally met every one of my high expectations and then some. So for those of you who, like me, fell in love with Jared and Tate’s story and were wondering if Rival will be just as good? I’m here to tell you that it abso-freaking-lutely is. It’s been a while since a book has had me so consumed in its story, but once I started Rival, I literally could not stop reading. I was utterly addicted to each and every page.

There were people I liked and people I didn’t like. People I loved and people I hated.
But there was only one person I loved to hate.

Madoc and Fallon: step-siblings–who hate each other. Basically, the perfect ingredients for one hell of a book.

Two years ago, Fallon was sent away to boarding school. Madoc was left behind, and during those two years, hatred festered over misunderstandings and hurt. But the Madoc we know now? He’s not exactly an angry boy. He’s obnoxious, rude, funny as hell, but not very emotional. But now that Fallon is back, all these emotions are rising up in him–his lust and hate for her–and the chemistry between them is passionate and can’t be denied.

That beautiful girl that hated me, and I hated her, but–goddamn it–I loved how we hated, because it was raw and real. It didn’t make any sense, but yeah–it was real.

I absolutely loved how Penelope Douglas portrayed Madoc and Fallon’s attraction. No matter how much they hate each other, that attraction is always there, and it’s hard and fast and felt very, very real. I could feel the tension between them, how on edge the two of them were. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat, with my heart pounding, just waiting for the tension to explode between them. And besides, love and hate? There’s a very thin line between the two, and Madoc and Fallon cross that line again and again.

Fallon is one hell of a chick. I loved her, admired her, felt for her, hurt for her. She goes through such emotional turmoil from past and present hurts, all the while never giving up that badass persona. She’s tough through and through, but the one person who can get through those walls, the one person who sees her for her, is Madoc. Madoc, the first boy she’s ever been with, the boy who broke her heart, and now the man who fires her up like no other.

“You act like you have no heart, like you just swallow your conscience with all of the pain you cause. But I see through it, Fallon. The truth is, you want me like nobody’s business.” She closed her mouth and swallowed. “You’ve always wanted me. You know why? Because I don’t try to kill your demons. I run with them.”

Madoc and Fallon definitely don’t have an easy path ahead of them. They have so much history that we piece together as it’s slowly revealed throughout the book. Rival almost felt suspenseful, in the way that it was so thrilling and intense to read. There is just so much for Fallon and Madoc to overcome, but there is no doubt that these two can do anything together.

Rival is told in both Madoc and Fallon’s POVs, so we come to understand how both of them feel. We understand where their anger comes from, how their anger is justified. I never even wanted to smack either of them, that’s how much I came to love and understand them. This couple has one of the most gripping and addicting stories, and I applaud Penelope Douglas for creating them, for creating characters that I’ll never forget.

And Jared and Tate fans, don’t despair! These two play a heavy part in Rival, which totally me happy. And holy crapola, JAX! We get to see a little more of Jax, Jared’s brother, and I have to say, I have a feeling I’m going to love Jax even more than Jared or Madoc, which is saying something because I love Jared and Madoc to infinity and beyond. I grew a little obsessed with Jax while reading Rival–I swear, Falling Away cannot get here fast enough!

So, Rival? It’s one of the best books I’ve read all year. I loved every single thing about it. I was up until three in the morning finishing this darn book, but it was so worth it. I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK!

5 hearts
lacey


Reading Order: Fall Away series

Bully by Penelope Douglas Until You by Penelope Douglas
Rival by Penelope Douglas Falling Away by Penelope Douglas Aflame by Penelope Douglas

#1 ~ Bully: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Until You: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Rival: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Falling Away: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Aflame: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads


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Blog Tour + ARC Review & Giveaway: Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters

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Welcome to today’s stop on the DEBT INHERITANCE tour! DEBT INHERITANCE is the first book in the INDEBTED series, and for Pepper Winters fans, it shouldn’t be missed!

Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters

Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters
Series: Indebted #1
Release date: August 18th 2014
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“I own you. I have the piece of paper to prove it. It’s undeniable and unbreakable. You belong to me until you’ve paid off your debts.”

Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Being the first born daughter, her life is forfeit to the first born son of the Hawks to pay for sins of ancestors past. The dark ages might have come and gone, but debts never leave. She has no choice in the matter.

She is no longer free.

Jethro Hawk receives Nila as an inheritance present on his twenty-ninth birthday. Her life is his until she’s paid off a debt that’s centuries old. He can do what he likes with her—nothing is out of bounds—she has to obey.

There are no rules. Only payments.

A modern day Dark Erotic Romance

Buy Links:
Amazon US • Amazon UK • Kobo • iTunes

review

Holy shit!! I honestly have no idea what I just read, but it was dark, delicious, and I was utterly addicted to it. Debt Inheritance completely lives up to Pepper Winters standards, so fans definitely should not miss this.

My twenty-ninth birthday gave me a pet. A toy.
A responsibility I didn’t want.
Debts I had to extract from unwilling flesh.
A job to uphold our family honour.
Nila Weaver.

So that right there says it all. The Weaver family owes a debt to the Hawk family, and every generation, the first-born Weaver daughter is given to the first-born Hawk son to fulfill that debt. For the past few centuries, this debt has been paid, and Nila Weaver is the next payment.

Nila is a fashion designer living her dream. She’s showcasing her designs in Milan, her beloved family is there with her to celebrate, when her world turns upside-down.

Turned out, I was never an individual; I was a possession to trade.
I was never unique; someone had lived my life many times before, never free, never whole.
My life was never mine.
My destiny was already written.
My story began the night he came for me.

Nila has been sheltered by her father all her life; she has little experience with men, so when a mysterious, handsome man named Jethro Hawk approaches her at her fashion show, she jumps at the chance to go out with him. But though Jethro may come off as a gentleman, elegant and charming, underneath it all is a lethal, dangerous force. And he unleashes that force onto Nila and takes her away from everything she’s ever known.

Told in alternating POVs, this first installment of the Indebted series is fast-paced, dark, and gritty. We have Nila’s POV, an innocent girl thrust into her very own nightmare. She’s become someone’s possession, but there’s still a fire within her, a fire that intrigues her ‘owner.’ And we have Jethro’s POV, in which we discover what kind of man he is, how he came to be this powerful, sensual, harsh man, and whether he is worth redeeming.

This series holds so much potential–I can’t wait to see where Pepper Winters will take this story and these characters.

4 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

about the author

Pepper Winters

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Her Dark Erotica books include:
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed

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Early Review: The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost

The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost

The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost
Series: Broken Destiny #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: August 26th 2014
Purchase: EbookPaperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (Harlequin) in exchange for an honest review

In a world of shadows, anything is possible. Except escaping your fate.

Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been gripped by visions of strange realms just beyond her own. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is trapped in a parallel realm. And the one person who believes her is the dangerously attractive guy who’s bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

Adrian might have turned his back on those who raised him, but that doesn’t mean he can change his fate…no matter how strong a pull he feels toward Ivy. Together they search for the powerful relic that can save her sister, but Adrian knows what Ivy doesn’t: that every step brings Ivy closer to the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could doom the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side and Adrian on the other. And nothing but ashes in between…

I’m a HUGE fan of Jeaniene Frost–she does paranormal like no other. And when I found out she was writing a new paranormal series that was also NEW ADULT? I totally jumped for joy! I loved her Night Huntress series, so of course I had to read this new series. Plus, there aren’t that many new adult books that dab in the paranormal genre, but what better way to be introduced to this genre than with Jeaniene Frost?

I really, really liked The Beautiful Ashes. It wasn’t perfect, but I enjoyed myself the whole time reading this. We have our heroine, Ivy, who sees visions of different realms. She doesn’t know if what she sees is real, or why she sees them, or even how, but she mainly ignores it to keep her insanity intact. But when her sister gets kidnapped, her whole world is turned upside down, because those visions? They’re real.

“Well, Ivy. I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, you’re not crazy. The bad news is, everything you’ve seen is real, and now, it’ll be coming for you.”

In the midst of finding out about all this craziness–demons, angels, and parallel realms are totally real and they totally exist–the one thing Ivy can focus on is saving her sister. And the one person who can help Ivy is Adrian, a man that sparks something in her she’s never felt before, a man who is destined to become her enemy.

I have to say, even though I didn’t fall for Adrian as much as I wanted to, I can see myself wholeheartedly loving him in the upcoming books in the series. I’m not even sure why I didn’t LOVE Adrian from the start–he’s a total badass, he’s mysterious, he protects Ivy with everything he’s got, and there’s a delicious tension between him and Ivy I lapped up. Adrian and Ivy are destined to be enemies, which makes their attraction to each other all the better.

“You’re the light I can never have… and I’m the darkness you’ll never succumb to.”

Ivy herself is a good heroine–I could connect with her, but up to a point. Still, I liked her well enough, but Ivy and Adrian together is what made the story for me. As Ivy and Adrian search for a relic to save her sister, they grow closer together. I really enjoyed watching their relationship slowly develop–the scenes I loved reading were always the ones with the two of them together.

There’s excitement, action, and intrigue, as well as a little humor here and there that is typical from Jeaniene Frost. The Beautiful Ashes met my expectations, but… it didn’t surpass it. I wanted to love it, but my only problem was that the world building fell a bit flat for me. It felt like I, along with Ivy, was thrust into this world too quickly without knowing anything. It gave me a ton of information without letting me have the time to process it. I like being given bits and pieces of a world so I can map it out myself, but it was difficult to do with this book.

The main thing about The Beautiful Ashes is that it holds potential. I honestly can’t wait to see what Jeaniene Frost has in store for us with the rest of the series. Now that we’ve got the world-building over and done with, I’m so excited to see this potential grow into so much more.

4 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: Broken Destiny series

The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost The Sweetest Burn by Jeaniene Frost

#1 ~ The Beautiful Ashes: EbookPaperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Sweetest Burn: EbookAudible • Goodreads